Fall-checking device for aircraft



A. ZEITLIN.

FALL CHECKING DEVICE FOR AIRCRAFT APPLICATION FILED JUNE 17, I92I.

Patented Aug. 1",

INVENTOR fl/cymndre ZeL Zlz'rL 5; 8V- 2 2 his A TTORNE Y ELLE , ALL'OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

NT rs E.

mane ZEI'rLm, or NEW Yonx, N. Y., assr'enon' or ONE-FOURTH T not an, one-roams: TO .rosnrn nrrxm, AND ONE-FOURTH re snmum.

FALL-CHECKING DEVICE FOR AIRCRAFT.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patent d A 1922 Appli'catjionflled June 17,1921. Serial n 478,368.

3 To at'l whom it my concern:

il3e it "known that ALnxANnRE Znrrnm, citlzen of the Georgian Republic, residing at New York city, New York, has invented a new and useful Improvement in F all-Checking Devices for Aircraft, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a stabilizing device and lifting propeller for air craft and has particular reference to such a combina tion of parts which may be employed to -maintain' the'equilibrium of a falling aeroplane and simultaneously offer substantial resistance to the rapid descent of such a bod a The object of the-present invention is to provide a telescoping parachute to be carried by the present type of aircraft and which maybe used as a plane during forward flight, but capable of being extended, incase of "emergency so as to check the descent, of the machine.

Another obgect of this invention is to icopter driven by an'independent motor and which may extend below the aeroplane, to substantially assist in breaking 'the rapid descent of the falling craft.

With these and other objects in view the present invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter clearly set forth and illustratively exemplified in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

- parachute.- 1

Referring to the drawing 10 indicates the fuselage of an air craft and provided with aircraft equipped with m 35 Fig. '1, is aside elevational view of an invention. Fig. 2, is a plan view 0 the telescoping parachute. 4

Fig. 3, is a substantially vertical sectional View taken on the lines, 3-'-3 of Fig, 2.

- Fig. 4, is a sectional view taken on the lines 4-4 of Fig. 2, showing the supporting frame forthe extensible sections of the the usual cock-pit 11 having amotor 12 and operatorls seat 13 housed therein. driving propeller--14 of the well known type is mounted 'forward of the nose of the cock-pit 11 and is driven by the motor 12. Suitable wings 15 extend laterally from each side of the body 10; these wings may be"arran ed either as monoplanes or biplanes depen ing upon the type of craftused. The body is supported, when at rest upon-the A perip endof the post 23 and extended'axiallypf themachi'ne is a control bar 29 having guide thimbles30 extendin throughopenin 0' posite endsthereo .The rearward t mground, on wheels 16 carried beneath the body and rearwardly of the cock-pit 11. The ta1l'17 of the craft is made up of a frame work of metal which may be of any strong type and provided with the usual stays and cross pieces.

Carried'by the tail piece 17 rearwardly of the cock-pit 11 is a superstructure 18 adapted to support a telescoping parachute '19 which is circular in form and slightly elevated in the center to provide a cone. The

parachute 19 is secured to the superstructure 18 by means of a circular frame 20 comprisng an annular grooved member 21' having inwardly projecting radial spokes 22 which are secured to ether at their inner ends by a collar 23. he collar 23 is received by a central post 23 projecting-upwardly from the superstructure 18 and it is attached ed upon the forward half of thefframe 20 are twd quarter segments 25 provided about their outer edge with a depending tongue 26 adapted to rest in the groove of the member 21. These segments 25 are extensible and toward the rear of the frame 20 the parachute 19 'is closed and is used as a plane to assist in supporting the machine when, 1n

over the" frame 20 and disk 24 so that by 7 moving each quarter away from each other In order tofacilitatethe opening and closing of the parachute 19 the quarter segments25 are each'provided with stud lates .27 having studs 28 extending from the r u per surfaces andarranged so that'there Wlll be onepeg or stud 28 at each-of the two strai ht ed dleryt ereof. Attached to the'upper 1) e30 projectsthrough-thedisk 24 and the forward thimble 30 receives recesses provided'in the edge of each of the abutting quarter disks 25. In order to controlthe es of the plates 27 adjacent the arcuate movements of the disks or segments 25 guide wire 31 attached to each of the forward studs 28 extends to the forward thimble 30 and are threaded through the opening therein and attached to one arm of a T shaped lever 32 which is pivoted in the frame work of the superstructure 18. This connection controls the opening of these segment disks 25 to a position shown in Fig. 2.

The rearward movements or telescoping of the segment disks 25 are likewise controlled by wires 33 attached at one of their ends to .the rearward studs 28 and then being threaded through the rearward thimble 30 to the other arm of the T lever 32. It will be noted that by rocking this lever'32 the wires will be drawn through one of the thimbles 30 and in this way the segments 25 are moved over the frame 20 and disk 24 to their respective positions. A slide 'rod 34 is pivoted to the stem of the T lever 32 and extends forward to a workable position within reach of the operators seat 13.

Axially aligned with the parachute 19 and depending from the tail piece 17 between the wheels 16 is a helicopter or lifting propeller 35 which is driven by an auxiliary motor 36. This motor may be of the internal combustion type or an electrically controlled motor receiving its current from storage batteries. Suitable wiring connected to an automatically operated switch could be provided to automatically throw the motor 36 into operation following the stopping of the main driving motor 12'.

As previously explained, the parachute 19 is in closed posltion when the machine is being propelled forward in the usual manner, but assuming that trouble has centered in the motor 12 which caused it to stop and the craft immediately began to descend,the operator could instantly operate the lever 32 by drawing forward the slide rod 34: and the forward wires 31 would pull the segment disks toward each other until the full circular surface of the frame 20 is closed.

The parachute 19 is then in its open position and supports the craft against rapid descent in the manner peculiar to this type of device. In this way the machine would remain in upright position throughout its fall or in other words the parachute would exercise a stabilizin efl'ect upon the craft. In addi tion to t e support received from the extended parachute the lifting effect of the helicopter would further aid in breaking the downward travel of the descending machine and by the time the craft approached the earth its downward speed may be practi call overcome.

' hat I claim is: v

lQIn an air craft, a combination plane and parachute, comprising a stationary an nular supporting frame, a relatively fiied semicircular solid disc portion carried by said frame, and additional soliddisc portions slidably supported in said frame and movable relatively to the fixed portion.

' 2. In an air craft, a combination plane and parachute, comprising a stationary annular supporting frame, a relatively fixed semicircular solid disc portion carried by said frame, additional solid disc portions guidely supported in said frame and mo vsupported upon said frame and adapted to be movedto overlie the forward portion of said frame to, complete a circular supporting disks toward and away from each other to close or open said parachute.

.4. An air craft, in combination a telescop-.

surface, means for moving said segmental mg parachute including a semicircular diskq having its surface inclined upwardly toward a central point, two segmental sections movable relatively to said first named disk and in a direction which is toward or away from each other to form'a complete circular surface with the semicircular disk or to overlie the latter, and guide wires attached to op- I posite radial edges of said segmentalsections to control the arcuate movements of the latter.

In testimony whereof, ALEXANDBE ZEITLIN' has signed his name, to this specification, this 1 I 25th day of May 1921.

ALEXANDRE ZEITLIN.

Witnesses: p

WM. ABRAMSON, JOHN SCHULMAN. 

